Implementing the DHCP Server Service

Every workstation (actually every device with a network interface card) on an IP network requires a unique IP address and a corresponding subnet mask. You have two options for configuring IP addresses. The first is to visit each workstation and configure each one with a static IP address, as well as any other required parameters, such as a default gateway and subnet mask.

To illustrate how difficult it could be, imagine a large network with 5,000+ users. It is possible to visit each workstation and manually configure IP addresses initially, but the work doesn't stop there. What if later you need to make a change to one of the parameters, such as the IP address of the DNS server? Once again, you'd have to visit each workstation. The more efficient way to do this is to implement a DHCP server to centralize administration and automate IP address assignment.

To automate the allocation of IP addresses and other parameters, at least one computer must have the DHCP Server service installed and configured. The service can be installed on a Windows 2000 domain controller, Windows 2000 member server, or a standalone server that is a member of a workgroup.

Although it is preferred to use Windows 2000 DHCP, you can also implement Windows NT 4.0 DHCP.